Lake Orion High School student and Pontiac teen both charged in connection with homicide

PONTIAC -- A 16-year-old Lake Orion High School student and a 17-year-old Pontiac high school dropout have been charged in the death of Adrian Contreras, who was fatally shot in his Inglewood Avenue home early Monday morning, according to the Oakland County Sheriff's Office.

Donald Lee James, 16, of Orion Township, is being charged as an adult. He was arraigned on Thursday at 50th District Court in Pontiac before Judge Michael Martinez and is locked up at Children's Village.

James is charged with felony murder, assault with intent to murder, first-degree home invasion and three counts of possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony. If convicted, James could face a sentence of up to life in prison. He was not granted a bond by Martinez.

Jonathan Dewight Hickerson was shot by Contreras' brother and remains in serious condition at a local hospital. When sheriff's deputies responded to the home invasion call, they found the Pontiac teen wounded in the front yard upon arrival. Hickerson was arraigned Friday by Judge Martinez at the hospital and was not given a bond. He is charged with the same counts as James: felony murder, assault with intent to murder, first-degree home invasion and three counts of possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony.

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Hickerson is a Pontiac School District dropout, according to the sheriff's office.

A third 16-year-old suspect in Contreras' killing was arrested on Thursday, Oakland County Undersheriff Mike McCabe said in a release.

A 23-year-old Grand Blanc man and a 23-year-old Davisburg man who were arrested after the Monday shooting were released the next day. Their car matched a description given of the suspect's car in the Contreras homicide, and the two "were cleared and released the next day after it was determined they were not involved in the homicide," McCabe said in the release from the sheriff's office.

Contreras, 27, sustained one gunshot to the head and two to the chest and was pronounced dead on the scene at 3:37 a.m. Monday, the Oakland County Medical Examiner's office said earlier this week. HIs wife and 6-month-old baby escaped unharmed to a neighbor's home during the shooting.

Twenty-four rounds were fired at the Inglewood Avenue house, McCabe said; 11 came from an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle and eight came from a .45 caliber semi-automatic handgun. The handgun hasn't been found, and both guns were stolen by the suspects from a home near Baldwin Avenue and Cornell Avenue the day before the shooting, McCabe said.

Contreras' brother fired four rounds from a 9mm handgun before it jammed and one cartridge from a shotgun, McCabe said.